NEWS

President's Report

17 December 2012Jake Gunther

"Australian President, Jake Gunther"

So the season is well underway, with lots of great Etchells sailing going on all around the country!

In Melbourne, we have been busy getting ready for the Nationals in WA, four crews are travelling to compete, so as you can imagine, there has been plenty of good competition going on locally. It is all very close, as we have been sailing mainly short courses, so I guess when we stretch our legs off Fremantle things will get very interesting!

I must say, it is looking like we will have a smaller fleet than normal this year, but there will be heaps of quality. Perth is such a unique place it seems to breed excellent one-design sailors and with that amazing racetrack, it can only end in smiles. If there are any crews out there that would really like to go, but it seems a little daunting, well think again! There are still some very good charter boats available, at very reasonable rates and please don't hesitate to contact me personally, if you need some advice or help on this. We would love to see a few more committing to what will be a great Etchells event.

The Class has been busy in the last few months with a variety of issues, including the appointment of the Gold Coast fleet for the running of the 2013-2014 National titles. It is proposed that the regatta will be held in November of 2013, with the exact dates to be published very soon. Stay tuned!!!!

So it sounds like WA in January, Tuscany in June and the Gold Coast in November.... Love it. See you all there!!!

Internationally, we have been busy with the ballot for Governors and rule changes. The results are as follows:

The voting has been counted for the Class Governors election and the following candidates have been elected;

Chris Busch

Shannon Bush

Argyle Campbell

Gary Gilbert

Jake Gunther

Dirk Kneulman

Peter McNeill

Noel Paterson

Tim Patton

David Ritchard

In regard to the voting on the proposed rule changes, the following votes were recorded;

Anchor line max dimensions - passed with 88% in favour

Tow line max dimensions - passed with 86% in favour

Tow line requirement to be floatable - passed with 89% in favour

Mast chocking/mechanical rams - passed with 71% in favour

Jib measurement per ISAF - passed with 90% in favour

Carbon fibre spinnaker poles - did not pass only 58% in favour

Sail royalty - did not pass only 51% in favour

These items need a two-thirds majority to be passed, so as you can see some items will remain unchanged.

It will be very interesting to see how some crews adapt item #4 to their boats. We talked about a lot of systems, lots of very different ideas. I am very confident the class will eventually settle on one that is simple and makes the boat just a little easier to sail.

Once again, a big thanks to the entire executive and all those who help so much, which keeps the International Etchells Class powering on.